After around one year the Integration officially ended, during that time all of humanity was transported to artificial realms that would help them to cope with their new way of life, the tutorial was there to ensure humans had the necessary skill and understanding for the world they would now inhabit from this day forward. While most of them got transported into fairly easy tutorials (easy by system standards), the system analysed each person before making a decision. With this method it was ensured that there would be enough crafters, healers, farmers, but also common town guards and military related classes. All of those got special tutorials to prepare them for the new world. With the goal to create a balanced and stable society.

  But there was of course a group of people that didn’t fit any of these roles, people with a free spirit, a special way to think, confidence in their abilities both warranted and through delusion. These were humans with lots of potential that would be wasted in the more standardized classes. Warriors, archers, mages were the start for those types of people. Those classes were not focused on building something but hunting the monsters that have evolved from normal creatures or that got spawned by magic itself, beasts that infested the new world from the lowest depths to the highest clouds.

  Because these were classes focused on killing things it attracted…a specific kind of people. It was obvious that the darker side of humanity would fill these roles. The broken, the mad, the violent to name a few of them. But it was a necessary evil , while the others were made to uphold civilization, these classes were made to expand it to every corner of the newly integrated worlds. The holders of those classes were the forerunners as the wider universe called them, people dying on the front so the rest can move into the cleared spaces. While the forerunners were important they died the most of all tutorial attendees, so the ones surviving their tutorial were usually the strongest of the bunch. While most of them carry their quirks, their madness, their broken self like a torch for everyone to see. Some hide their darkness well and seem rather normal all things considered. People like Ethan who managed to achieve a lot during his tutorial while remaining mostly in control of themselves despite the challenges presented, but the tutorial ended and now…now it was time to prepare for what comes next. Because conflict was on the horizon and it will surely be the first new mark in the history of humanity.

  Ethan looked at the portal that waited for him at the end of the library, when he finally gathered his courage he stepped through it. What he felt next was something he wouldn’t forget for some time because it was extremely strange. It felt like his body was moving through a thick liquid, like he was stuck in time and space while colors moved around him. His body was moving at a snail's pace, but his mind was racing through all the possible dangers he would face in his new old world. While waiting for his transportation or was it teleportation? To come to an end the familiar weight of Nora appeared on his shoulders, while at the same time a small chain appeared around his neck which felt cold on his pale skin. An egg shaped jewel was hanging from a silver chain, he lifted the jewel with his hand and tried to identify it.

  [Seraphic Frost Owl Egg]

  [The Egg of the Seraphic Frost Owl, the last known egg known to you in this universe, the progenitor. Kept in stasis for hundreds of years the child inside is waiting for the perfect moment to hatch.]

  Jeriel’s gift…the most important thing he received from him together with his new class. This simply looking gift that was in reality his only child, his offspring he guarded for centuries until the time was right. If Ethan couldn’t find more of them out there in the wider multiverse this was the last Seraphic Frost Owl in existence. He hoped that one day he would travel to the stars and revive the companions of the winter elves to their former glory and strength. He sighed and let go off the amulet which contained the egg, the small jewel suddenly heavy on his chest as it held a lot more weight in Ethan’s mind. Nora sensed his unease and wrapped tighter around his arm, these days they didn’t need to talk at all to understand each other perfectly, even if their bond was fresh on the timescale of the rest of the system it was an unbreakable bond which only strengthened over time.

  He grabbed his staff with more force when he felt the energy around him shift, the mana that was now around him felt different to Ethan, like it was folding space and time onto itself…in a way. While he learned a lot during the tutorial from his point of view, in the grand scheme of things he was still just a newborn compared to the people that already lived under the system. He cracked his neck and waited for the odd feeling of travelling through space and time to pass. It seems his return to Earth was almost finished. Ethan hoped he was ready for it.

  Without much flare or fanfare he appeared in a forest, a forest that looked sick, even sicker than the one his tutorial began in. Like a wounded beast that barely hangs on to life despite wounds covering its body, disease invading the organs and having maggots eating its flesh, only a stubborn nature keeps it from succumbing to its injuries.

  This forest was the same as a beast at death's door. The ground and the trees were filled with mushrooms that looked like slimy, pulsing organs. The pale mushrooms leaked some reddish liquid and red spores exploded outwards after their forms contracted a few times, blowing up again and again, releasing whatever those death bringing substances were into the air. Ethan coughed only seconds after appearing in the forest, the red spores released by the mushrooms invaded his airways and tried to infect him with whatever their effect was…he coughed another time before slamming the end of his staff into the ground, freezing everything around him in a massive radius, the now frozen spores drifted like snow to the ground, his magic rendering them inert and making this small part of the forest almost look normal.

  He coughed again, pale blue blood splattering on the floor after he expelled whatever had infected him. Ethan was lucky that he had invested in vitality. His decisions back then saved him a lot of times already. Spared from a fate that certainly would include an instant death from these things, other classes could be in real trouble if they entered the forest without preparation. It all depended on their point distribution.

  The ice soldiers that previously accompanied him were gone, they had already vanished after stepping through the portal and despite having the class only for some time he felt weird without them. So Ethan didn’t hesitate as he used a large chunk of his mana to create new ones to guard him. Their forms rose from the ground, their feet got formed first by ice creeping up from the ground and slowly they grew until a new group of soldiers stood before him.

  Silently they formed a ring around him, guided by his thoughts. Only when he felt safe enough did he inspect his surroundings more closely. He was obviously in a forest but instead of green trees and the earthy smell of nature he only encountered white, sickly amalgamations covered in those pulsing mushrooms. After making sure he wasn’t in any more danger than he already was, like the threat of growing mushrooms inside of his own body that would kill him, he checked the notification that appeared.

  *Update* Congratulations tutorial attendee! You’re one of the remaining 3.954 billion people that managed to complete the tutorial of this integration! Sadly 4,188 billion people died during the integration! Recommendation…a moment of silence….

  ….

  ….

  ….

  *Update* Greetings Ethan Delaney! You’re in the top 10 million of all tutorial attendees! Become a cornerstone of your world Gaia (formerly Earth) and guide the people into a brighter future!

  *Update* Title unlocked - Guide of Humanity

  Ethan raised an eyebrow before the shock started to settle on his face when he read the message again. Before he could panic the cold clarity of his element swept through his head, having a firm grasp on his emotions like most of the time. Over 4 billion people died during the integration, in tutorials that were supposed to teach one the ins and outs of the system, which admittedly, it did a really bad job at and now all those people are just gone. From a practical standpoint it made sense to remove those not compatible with the system, still it was cruel.

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  Even if he wanted to think about all the consequences of losing so many people, the system wasn’t finished with the news it wanted to provide for him. Reluctantly Ethan opened the next notification.

  *Update* Your planet, Gaia, was gifted a special reward during this integration! Your very own deathworld! We hope you enjoy the challenges it will provide and help you grow even stronger!

  [Deathworld - System Creation]

  [A place of varying size which is designed to be a hostile environment. Those that seek to become stronger can enter the deathworld through special tokens, these can be earned via different methods. The deathworld for the planet Gaia was placed in the orbit around it for convenience. This makes it possible to reach the world without a token.]

  Ethan couldn’t stop himself and looked to the sky, there even larger than Gaia’s moon was an entirely new planet, while it wasn’t as big as Gaia itself it still looked massive compared to the moon. What greeted Ethan on closer inspection of the surface was a world colored in sickly greens, burning reds and lifeless gray. The only things remotely nice about the planet was a slim ring of lush green right around the equator and of course both the north and south pole that stood out in white. The whole planet looked artificial in terms of its biomes but he shuddered when thinking this was a planet designed to literally kill you, a real death world.

  Before he could continue studying the planet and the messages provided by the system he heard something moving in the gray bushes that filled the forest ground. Ethan snapped his head around and scanned the surroundings with his snake-like eyes, the ice soldiers held their shields up and their spears were ready to strike at any enemy that revealed itself.

  When he heard the next shuffling of dry leaves Ethan spotted the movement in the bushes. He turned towards the threat, his staff held high and his magic ready to be unleashed on the unknown entity, for it to survive here it must be a monster compared to everything he faced in the tutorial.

  In the next moment he cracked a smile and couldn’t hold back a small laugh, out of the bushes walked a tiny creature. The creature only reached his knees and looked kind of cute if he was honest with himself. Its body was green and brown, both arms and legs looked more like tentacles or vines with the head being a large flower colored in a deep red. Ethan, still cautious, sent one of the soldiers to shoo it away, he had no interest in killing the only cute looking thing in this forest of horror mushrooms.

  But when his soldier reached the flower monster, thorns erupted from its arms and legs, spikes that looked more like teeths lined the edge of the flower itself. With more speed than Ethan would attribute to such a plant based creature, it attacked the soldier that had approached it without care for its own life. Without thinking about it Ethan froze the flower monster on the spot before it could destroy his ice soldier.

  “What a weird little fucker…gosh.” The second it fell to the ground the monster exploded into small frozen chunks, what followed was an ear piercing scream that was filled with sorrow and anger. More of the flower monsters rushed from the bushes, throwing themselves at the soldiers like plant-life berserkers. Ethan cranked his aura up to the max and watched the flower monsters stop in their tracks, his aura locking them down. But in the next second a black fireball flew from farther away right towards him, the speed and strength of it truly impressive.

  Hastily he constructed multiple shields and two of his soldiers threw themselves in front of him. Their purpose was clear as they were defenders first. They evaporated, instantly, his skill not high enough for an increase in durability that could withstand such a fire attack. But his personal shields held even if one formed a crack, his eternal ice working its magic and revealing to them that they were about the same level, otherwise his ice would be undamaged or destroyed. He snapped his fingers and one bigger soldier appeared, taking the place of the two he lost just now, this one equipped with two simple swords.

  Ethan called out into the forest. “Show yourself! I don’t want to fight you but if you provoke me I will defend myself!” His words sounded hollow and not very intimidating even if he commanded magic he was still himself. Ethan couldn’t focus on being embarrassed as he watched the trees around him, the soldiers stood in front of him with their shields raised, the large soldiers secured his back.

  Slowly a small woman stepped from between the trees, her head covered in thick red locks that fell down to her hips, her face marked by countless freckles that stood out on her pale skin. Her brown eyes stared at Ethan, a look of hatred burning in them, her face red and her hands balled up into fists. She looked weak but like him she was commanding an impressive force, she was a threat and had to be handled carefully.

  “You killed my flower man, you jerk! They were only doing their job you imbecile!” she fumed and a slew of swear words followed from her without even forming an actual sentence. “You shouldn’t kill any plant! Especially not mine! After all, they're much better than humans! My plants will show you how to behave!”

  After a silent signal all flower men charged at Ethan and his three soldiers but while she might be strong enough to fight him, the minions she had shown so far were incapable of being a real threat to Ethan. Without hesitation he influenced them with his aura, stopping the small flower monsters in their tracks and letting his two soldiers cut them down as fast as possible, each spear thrust killing one of them. The large soldier ran forward, Ethan on his heels already casting a spell to attack the small woman.

  The moment his aura touched the woman’s body he focused his entire strength on her while simultaneously summoning chains to bind her arms, legs and her midsection. His aura was definitely stronger so he easily captured the woman who in turn lost all her confidence and now looked fearful and broken, gone was the swearing woman demanding he died for his action. Ethan sighed and watched a massive tree that looked somewhat female stop, she was moments from unleashing a black fireball at him.

  Ethan looked up to the tree woman and sighed before focusing on the woman in front of him. “Alright, we just got back to…Gaia, would you like to talk first or go back to fighting? Because…” he tapped the chains binding her, the countless eyes of his aura watching her and her minions constantly. “...I have the upper hand.”

  He gave her a smile, trying to look as friendly as possible despite the situation they were in, before asking the next question. “Won’t you tell me your name? That is usually what polite people do when meeting someone new.”

  She grumbled and tried to get rid of the chains or the aura but nothing worked despite there not being much level difference between them. In the end she relented and lifted her head in defiance, her face a stone mask as she introduced herself. “I’m…Liliane, Liliane West.”

  Ethan smiled, this time he didn’t even have to force himself. “I’m Ethan Delaney, it’s nice to mee-”

  *Update* Preparations complete, war participants will be transported in 3…2…1…

  “Fuck you system…” Ethan managed to mumble before he was sucked into another teleportation…Liliane getting pulled along as well.

  Well I hope you liked the chapter!

  I'm very excited to work on this story again.

  IF you like something darker maybe give my side project a look, I hope to work on it too but not as regularly